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Graduate named 'best young chef in the world'

May 15, 2012

Happenings

A-B Tech Community College graduate Daniel Gorman has been named the “best young chef in the world” after beating six chefs in the Hans Bueschkens Junior Chefs Challenge international competition May 3 in Daejeon, South Korea.

Gorman was named “best young chef of the Americas” and earned the right to advance to global competition by winning the World Association of Chefs’ Societies Junior Chefs Challenge for the Americas in 2011. In the South Korean contest, he competed against chefs from Australia, China, Germany, Italy, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates.

The chefs, all under the age of 25, had to prepare a three-course meal for eight people using a specific ingredient for each dish. “I had four hours to prepare everything from scratch,” said Gorman. His buttermilk-braised sterling white halibut with a spring asparagus and pea salad and a leek fondue earned best fish dish in show.

In addition to the halibut, competitors were required to use a Kobe strip loin for the entrée and Korean strawberries for the dessert. Gorman’s entrée incorporated a carrot puree with red onion jam and a beef stew croquette. “For dessert, I made a no-bake cheesecake, which was like a mousse with a lime sponge cake and strawberry compote,” he said.

Gorman, a 2007 Culinary Technology graduate, was a member of the A-B Tech student culinary team that won the American Culinary Federation’s (ACF) national competition two months after he graduated. Three years later, he was named the ACF’s Southeast Region Student Chef of the Year and National Student Chef of the Year.

“Daniel was one of those students who took every opportunity and ran with it. He was excited to be in the kitchen, he worked really hard and practiced,” said Bronwen McCormick, A-B Tech’s Culinary Arts and Hospitality Chair. “He listens to feedback and uses it to improve, maintaining a level of humility that allows him to grow and get better. He puts himself out there to be judged and it will continue to take him to the next level. He knows he isn’t done and there’s more to learn. We have enjoyed watching him grow into this incredible chef and it’s rewarding to see him do these incredible things.”\

Gorman had been working as a sous chef for Cherokee Town Club in Atlanta and was recently promoted to chef de cuisine of the Terrace Level, where he will oversee 18 chefs in a $1.4 million operation.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for A-B Tech,” he said. “The experience I had competing with my teammates was great and I wouldn’t change a thing.”